A New Non-Contact Swelling Meter for Assessing Early Stage Shale Hydration: Market and Capability Assessment

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1. TO UNDERTAKE MARKET RESEARCH TO MAKE INFORMED ASSESSMENTS OF THE PRODUCT & SERVICES This involves engaging with end-users within the known market sector of oil & gas: BP and Chevron have agreed to supply samples (reservoir cores) to test the performance of the new device against well characterised samples; M-I SWACO have already expressed interest and Saudi Aramco will be approached via existing contacts. The stakeholders will primarily be approached for assistance in developing and refining the IP in the following ways:- What are the needs of the end-users in terms of features and functionality and final analysis reporting of clay hydration and drilling fluid analysis? This will help us realise the full scope of a product/service that can be considered competitive in the market we intend to address.- What are their current methods for initial hydration tests of wellbore material and drilling fluid effectiveness? This information will allow us to identify the strengths and weaknesses of our existing IP.- Can they confirm that there is a market need for our IP? 2. TO RESEARCH COMPETITORS FOR BOTH TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING STRATEGYThis research will involve: - A technological analysis on the available competitor products to determine key areas of scientific development which can be incorporated into our product designs. This will also expose the risks involved with building a more advanced product. - An investigation into the analysis techniques used to extract useful information from the data of the instruments. This will enable us to develop a standardised reporting format which will great increase efficiency and effectiveness of our IP. - Market strategy analysis which will shed light on competitor strength of brand, distribution strength, market reputation, breadth of product and technical support. This will allow us to develop the IP to a point where it can offer benefits over competing solutions. The starting point for the research is a competitor GRACE's instruments with which R. Patel (the researcher) and contacts in M-I SWACO have direct experience. Access to other competitor products will be made via BP and Chevron.3. TO INVESTIGATE OTHER POTENTIAL MARKETSAlthough the driving market use for our IP is oil & gas exploration, the measurements that can be made using our IP are applicable to a broader market. There has been interest from existing contacts in hydrogen storage company, Cella Energy looking to measure expansion of their materials in water at high pressure and temperature, as well as UCL Physics. Any discipline where expansion of a material is measured over time in contact with water and other fluid chemicals can be approached. We will explore existing contacts within the food and pharmaceutical materials industry, as we believe these are another market for out IP. It is therefore imperative that these relationships are built and maintained to optimise the position of our IP within the overall market.4. TO PERFORM ASSESSMENT OF MARKET OPPORTUNITY AND COMPETITORS TO BUILD COMMERCIALISATION STRATEGY & ROUTE TO MARKETThis work will be performed by external consultancy, Woodview Technology Limited, who have considerable expertise in technology development for the energy industry (see Letter of Support). Alongside our existing contacts with end-users, they will engage with their own, larger network of supply chain companies who might be potential customers of our IP. This will broaden our network and develop a better informed strategy for commercialisation. Woodview Technology Ltd will address the following points:- Perform a market and IP analysis to aid in the development of a licencing agreement for partners to buy into the technology.- Investigate opportunities for patenting the IP. - Investigate viability of providing IP as a product or service. - Develop a route to market strategy, involving liable future activities, risks, etc